A climate change toolkit for Hong Kong’s travel trade

Online toolkit and checklists to help travel agents and front-line staff act on climate change, 2013

The challenge

Hong Kong’s travel trade had little practical, sector-specific guidance on climate change: what it is, how tourism contributes to it, and what agencies and staff can do about it day to day.

What I did

• Researched and wrote a nine-section website: overview, what climate change is, tourism and climate change, actions by management, actions by front-line staff, benefits, concerns, conclusions and checklists, and resources.
• Produced two downloadable PDF guides, one for owners and managers and one for front-line staff.
• Embedded a carbon-footprint calculator so users could see the effect of their choices.

Outcome

• A free, self-serve toolkit online for the trade, backed by the Council for Sustainable Development.
• Cited by Prof Bob McKercher in his reference for the work.

Lessons

• Separate checklists for managers and front-line staff make guidance actionable.
• A short web format with printable summaries suits busy trade audiences.